“Cricket is the only source of happiness at home”: Afghans celebrate great victory

Afghans celebrated their country’s surprise cricket victory over Australia at the T20 World Cup in the West Indies.

Footage from the city of Khost near the border with Pakistan showed hundreds of people celebrating in the streets.

It was the first time Afghanistan had triumphed over the cricketing superpower – and that is all the more surprising considering that the country did not even have a national team at the turn of the century.

Accepting the award for player of the match, Afghanistan’s Gulbadin Naib said: “This is a great moment, not only for me but also for my nation, my people.”

Meanwhile, captain Rashid Khan said the win would “give so much hope to the people at home.”

“Cricket is the only source of happiness in our house, you all know that,” he said.

The first recorded cricket match in Afghanistan took place in 1839, when British troops took a break from the Anglo-Afghan War to crack leather on willow fields in Kabul.

However, it was not until the mid-1990s that cricket really took off in Afghanistan. The sport was nurtured by Afghans who had lived in refugee camps in Pakistan and returned to their native countries with a passion for the game.

The Afghan Cricket Board (ACB) was founded in 1995, a year before the Taliban first came to power.

The national team was formed after the Taliban were ousted by the US-led invasion in 2001 and became a member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 2017.

The team plays under the black, red and green flag rather than the white flag adopted by the country’s Taliban government after returning to power in 2021. It plays its home games in the United Arab Emirates under a five-year agreement.

Many countries do not recognize the Taliban government, which restricts Afghan women from working, studying and moving about in public. However, in January, Chinese President Xi Jinping accepted the credentials of the Taliban-appointed ambassador to Afghanistan.

After seizing power, the Taliban also appointed their own ACB chief, Naseeb Khan.

Because of restrictions on women in Australia, the national team was boycotted by some countries. In March, Australia cancelled a three-match series that was due to take place in the United Arab Emirates in August. It was the third time Australia had turned down a match against Afghanistan.

Cricket Australia said the government had warned that conditions for Afghan women and girls were “deteriorating” but announced that Australia would play against Afghanistan in tournaments.

Cricketer Firooza Afghan – who, like most of the country’s women’s team, was granted an emergency visa to visit Australia after the Taliban took power – posted her reaction to the Afghan victory.

“Congratulations to all Afghans. You have made history. Be happy, celebrate. The world is yours now,” she posted after the victory.

“Same country, same sport, same talent, same goal, same ability – but you can’t play because you’re a woman,” she added.

Rashid Khan’s side are now back in a good position to reach the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup and face Bangladesh in their final Super 8 match (Tuesday, 00:30 GMT).